The enemy is my friend, and the enemy of my enemy is my lover
by Flareose - Knifepoint Entry
Summary: Not many shinobi would just randomly visit you in the hospital when just the other day the both of you were in what you considered, a heated argument. Not many shinobi would continue their said visits even after your leave from the hospital and act as if you were old friends. And lastly not many shinobi during their weird visits informed you they were members of the Akatsuki.
1. Chapter 1

**The enemy is my friend, and the enemy of my enemy is my lover**

**Chapter One: Doubtful encounters**

* * *

He had his doubts…

But could you blame him?

Regardless of what Tsunade mentioned of her teammate - even if she too had nearly the same thoughts as he did - all Naruto could see most of the time was a sad sad pervert of a man. Even if this said sad sad pervert of a man was to be the one training him for the next two and a half years, he was still starting to wonder if it was really even worth the trouble.

Sure the man grinned and told him everything would be alright, that they in due time, would be training soon - minus the fact he didn't give him a when or where - and sure, the man was a genius as he'd seen countless of times from seeing what the man was capable of…

But then he would think again…

Was it really worth it?

If half of the time he wasn't gathering precious _materials _for his so called _research, _then the other half... He didn't actually know really. Now that he thought of it, what did the older man do for most of the day while gone?

He was drawing blanks here.

While he couldn't tell what Jiraiya did for most of the day, he could say from being left to his own devices meant chakra control exercises for him…

Though he couldn't tell if he was doing it right or not half of the time, because he expected Jiraiya to teach him if he was doing said thing right, half of the time.

Was that confusing?

Jiraiya for most of the time when they stopped at inns or rest areas was gone; doing whatever it was that grown-ups did besides research and the likes, so for the most part Naruto tried to recall past training exercises that he heard of or did, but ultimately found little if at all progress when doing so when he could recall little to no information on what he was trying to picture in his mind.

More than a couple of times he would try his hardest to remember what Iruka was saying concerning that leaf concentration thing during his academy days, but… He couldn't, is what he was trying to get at.

From during that lesson to afterwards when he and the others were in detention he could barely if anything recall what the man was trying to say, and could only recall clearly what the man said from when he was trying to master the rasangan. Anything after or before that was a blur of words he couldn't picture correctly with other things, or just numerous ramblings probably about him not paying attention.

And when asking Jiraiya about the subject it didn't help too much at all either since when he was just a little sad sad perverted of a boy he received different exercises concerning chakra control, but when he asked the man to explain what those particular chakra control exercises were for him… He couldn't understand a damn word of what he was trying to say.

If he wasn't for half of the time doing or trying for a better terminology chakra control exercises, then half of the other time he found it mediocre that he was trying to understand what a sensei from the past was trying to explain to him, back when he was just a little little brat trying to get out of those said classes on chakra control.

Made him wonder why he was honestly trying to understand what Iruka was saying from back then, when a sensei of today - and even Kakashi in some regards - was teaching him now.

It was mind boggling for him to think…

Since it was one of those thoughts alone which made him lose sleep some nights, and since it was that thought alone he couldn't properly answer.

He had to wonder if he was standing still most days. If he was even showing any progress at all while he traveled with this man. It didn't feel like he was getting any stronger since he left the village, didn't even feel as if he was moving in the right direction towards any of his goals.

He wondered those nights when he found little sleep of what the others back in Konoha were doing. Felt strange to think about them since he would feel this sort of sickness when doing so. Made him smile sometimes actually when he thought about his friends there, had him wondering if this was what homesickness felt like what with this strange longing to be… Home.

Those were the thoughts that flowed around in his mind for the past four weeks since they'd been on this little training trip of theirs, but it only proceeded to get stranger by the fifth.

* * *

**_Tuesday_**

**_8/16. One-thirty three p.m; Near a riverside_**

It had been a normal day when Jiraiya decided to start his training. Being summer he expected it to be a little humid which soon afterwards he thanked that the training took place on top of a river, which he fell in plenty of times, making him feel both a little relieved of the nice cool rush he got and a little annoyed since by the first two hours the concept of the training still hadn't clicked with him.

From either being relieved or annoyed he didn't feel that there was any rush in completing his task at hand, which he silently thanked there wasn't since he would have spent days on end trying to understand what he presumed was the first step of the exercise.

That didn't mean however, that he wouldn't have liked it if he could understand what he was doing from the beginning since it still tended to go over his head more than once, even from Jiraiya explaining things over and over until the man eventually gave up all together from trying to explain what he called; a simplicity in combating against gen-jutsu.

So in the end it was just a battle of trial and error for him until he eventually succeeded in accomplishing his task, which Jiraiya congratulated him on with a smile… Mentioning he finally managed to master the exercise so the teen could now relax for the rest of the day.

…

Those few words should have made him feel proud or happy, so why was it instead those words seem so careless to him?

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Naruto stood there on the rippling water as his eyes watched the older man sit up from where he was lying on the upper grass area. He couldn't put into words of what he felt just then, because he didn't know how to. If there was one thing he did know however, it was that he didn't want to stop now.

"H-hey wait," he stuttered at the man who was walking towards the side trail leading to the main street.

That couldn't have been everything there was to that exercise, could it?

He was exhausted, true.

Would have liked to take a breather for the rest of the day as a matter of fact...

But...

It was a total of four weeks since they started this training trip of his, which they had barely started doing the actual training today in his opinion. Even if it was a good three plus hours since he started and soon completed this training of combating against gen-jutsu, there were still other things they could have worked on that he would have begrudgingly admitted he needed practice with...

Even if he didn't keep mental notes of what exactly he needed help with in the first place, he could still tell there was something.

The main thing that dwelled in his mind during their leave was that this wasn't a vacation away from the village; it was never intended to be. He was supposed to be getting stronger during this training trip of theirs, which he barely started doing now. There was still too much to do when it concerned the events that happened inside Konoha, and there was still that dream of his he could barely say he's earned right now from the little he's done so far.

He needed to get stronger.

"Could have sworn I mentioned you completed today's training," the man said with a thoughtful expression on his face as his student caught up with him.

"I still have energy to burn. I don't mind a little check up training from this combating against gen-jutsu thing I completed." he did his best to smile at the man, even if it looked like Jiraiya wasn't going to agree either way with that pondering look he had on.

"Well… You didn't complete the combating against gen-jutsu thing to begin with actually…" whether it was from the way he said it so casually and innocent or not, a little twitch made itself know on Naruto's eyebrow.

"What…" maybe it was from the way his teeth was grinding together in a crude smile that made Jiraiya put his hands up in surrender, or it could have been the dark aura that was flowing around him that did the trick.

_Just like his mother… _the man thought as he chuckled nervously in front of his student. "Well if it helps… I saw this coming before you even began to train." that didn't help at all, as a matter of fact it made the situation all the worse when he swore his student's hair flew out in nine different formations from its spikes, regardless of the fact it wasn't even long hair.

"What…!" Naruto hissed as his eyes creased in a silent fury.

"H-hey now, I can explain alright," he spoke up when finding his student's mood not changing, and seeming to only increase as the time passed.

"…"

He let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding in when he looked at the boy, who'd usually by now would try and argue back without even waiting for an explanation.

"You're not the gen-jutsu type kid, I should know since I myself am not the gen-jutsu type either." when he found that his student crossed his arms over his chest with a frown instead of protesting as he believed he was going to do earlier, he felt it was good as any time to continue. "What takes place when it comes to combating against gen-jutsu is a basic understanding of the illusions themselves, which you don't have. Trying to make you understand even the basics of gen-jutsu would take months in advance, something we can't afford to waste time on." that only made the boy frown harder.

_Shouldn't have skipped all those chakra control classes, it seems. _the boy reflected bitterly when he thought about his goofing off ways as a child.

"But hey, don't worry about it," he spoke with a grin when he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You got the basics of disrupting gen-jutsu down, so you should be fine kid." Naruto didn't know how to take the fact that he was trying to cheer him up about something he should have known since he was ten years old, so he proceeded to just nod his head.

"Then… What about other things? Can't we still train in other areas that I have problems with?" the blonde asked as he looked up at the man with a hopeful stare.

"We already did enough for today," the man said with a sign, having the strangest feeling he was repeating himself. "Not to worry however, as I've got a special training set up for you soon." with a look of amusement he found it almost funny as that once gloomy look fell from the boy's face and was replaced with one of wonderment. _Same one track mind, _he thought fondly when the blonde grinned from ear to ear.

"Really?!" Naruto spoke with vigor. "What is it? Is it something cool, have I done something like this before, is it a new technique, it's a new technique isn't it, you're going to finally teach me how to walk on fire aren't you… Oh oh its air isn't it. You're going to finally teach me to walk on air isn't it?" the boy was talking a mile a minute which Jiraiya found he couldn't quite keep up with…

_S-slow down…_ he thought secretly when the boy just kept asking questions. "I can't say what it is because it's still special." that seemed to do the trick as Naruto stopped and just continued to stare at him with wonderment. "So keep that in mind and remember what I said about resting for today, okay?" Jiraiya said with a smile, which Naruto happily nodded to.

That boy truly did have a one track mind…

Or he would have if he hadn't of met the strangest person that later on he would consider his living breathing clone.

* * *

**_Tuesday_**

**_8/16. Four-fifty two p.m; Food market _**

Naruto stared with mouth slightly open at the strange wonder sitting next to him.

With a black jumpsuit and a long-sleeved black turtle neck top underneath, and a strange metal like purple sash around his waist with even stranger armored metal plates attached to said sash, and those same metal plates attached to the sides of his arms…

This guy was the very definition of the word bizarre.

It was the middle of summer and yet here this guy was - who had quite a bit ago after receiving his order of dango could have just proven that maybe he wasn't human at all but a ghost, when he chose that time to look at Naruto with his food going throw his mask - wearing some of the hottest clothes around with that green scarf and strange spiral mask not helping much of Naruto's concern for him in the slightest.

Even with his oddness from both his looks and his questionable mentality, that's not the reason why he was staring at him now with his mouth open agape. It was in the end his words that made him stare really, not the bewilderment of finding such an odd person here.

"I-I'm sorry…" he spoke with uncertainty in his voice as he hoped he heard this man wrong. When the man finally decided to look at him - after scarfing down three more dango sticks that was - he had just stared at him.

Which he did back…

Only afterwards feeling that probably wasn't a good idea as when he stared a little too long at the man's one eyehole, he felt he was looking into the void.

Finding this little staring contest of theirs quite unsettling now - after he swore he saw something in that eyehole of his - he decided to voice up so he could break the unnerving silence. "What?" he asked as he shifted his puzzled eyes to stare at his dangling feet that were just the interesting sight to behold surprisingly.

"Well you," the man started as if he thought of Naruto the same way someone found a bug to be interesting under a magnifying glass beneath the sun. "Look confused as a mouse at a cat convention right now."

If Naruto was stuttering right now as he stared at the man with confused widen eyes, then it was only for his strange comparisons. "That's… No, what I… What I meant before that…" he tried to explain to the man who he could just feel right now had the most surprised innocent look under that mask of his. "What you had said before, earlier I mean."

He wasn't expecting his answer to come as quickly as it did, nor was he expecting the man to have a certain serious tone in that goofy voice of his either…

"It's the truth." as the man got up from the bench he let out a yawn as he stretched his arms above his head, all the while a sinking feeling making itself know in the pit of Naruto's stomach just like earlier that day.

He found the only thing he could do at this point was to stare at the odd man who spoke words that had been floating in his head, ever since Jiraiya told him they were done with this particular training.

He told himself he did a good job as his sensei thought so as well but…

"It was quite a terrible sight to see earlier ya know? Of how you, just after training in that whole; combating against gen-jutsu thing you did earlier, believed that you were done." Naruto found himself gripping at the edges of the bench, his nails scratching against the wood until stopping.

"To hear you boasting to me earlier with that proud grin on your face as I asked if you were just finished doing a little training… Only for you to say afterwards you mastered it made me laugh a little inside honestly," he chuckled lowly, only to turn his head sideways to stare at the blonde who at this point was biting the inside of his lip, as he shifted his eyes once more to stare at his dangling feet.

The way he acted earlier… Was the same way a child acted when entering a candy shop for the first time, he knew… But he felt happy to realize he would be learning something new. Made him feel that maybe he could still reach towards his dream.

He had a feeling that wasn't how it worked however, or better yet wasn't the case at all but…

"You're what? From what I could tell of earlier a shinobi from the village of Konoha-"

"How did you?" Naruto questioned as he interrupted the man from continuing, in which afterwards they stared at each other in another unnerving silence.

"You're kidding me right?" with a simple tap on his spiral mask the blonde diverted his eyes to looking at his own headgear he was wearing now. "You're wearing a hitai-ate that clearly states from where you are if you couldn't tell." seeing the teen's eyes widening in realization made him shake his head at the display, "and a genin to boot I'm guessing since you're acting so surprised that I could read it."

With hand soon on hip and other outstretched as if swatting an annoying insect, he tsk'd at the genin. "Starting to wonder if you know what you're doing right now, Little genin. It's dangerous to wear something like a hitai-ate when you're not on a mission."

With the man openly mocking him now and probably laughing to boot on the inside, Naruto halfheartedly glared at him. "Hey, if I'm wearing my hitai-ate right now which I clearly know tells everyone where I'm from by the way," in which the man snickered at. "Then it just means that I'm proud to come from said village, you got that?" now Naruto was standing up with hand on his hip and an outstretched finger pointed towards this oddball he just had to meet today. In the middle of summer.

What were the odds honestly?

He was going to put those doubts he had about Jiraiya's training in the back of his mind as he and this strange wonder…

Just made the same mannerisms from them both placing hands on hips, to close glaring - he supposed, however he couldn't tell whether or not the other man was glaring at him even when their faces almost touched, and for some strange reason he felt he was just staring at the void once again - and then finally to crossing arms over their chest as they turned their heads to the side and stuck their noses up in the air.

This was starting to get a little bit too coincidental for Naruto's tastes. Had him wondering how did two people that just met do the same things out of the blue.

"I'm not going to stay a genin forever I can tell you that now," he said as he once again placed a hand on his hip and a finger outstretched towards the oddball. "I'll complete training you've never seen before and rise the ranks when doing so. I'm gonna gain the respect of everyone in my village and protect it with my life, that's when everyone's going to acknowledge me and see me as a hero."

"And what do you call today's training then exactly, huh?" he asked in a mocking tone, only making Naruto's eyebrow twitch in the process as people passing by were giving them funny looks.

"What I call it is a step in the right direction towards my dream." he could say that much right now of course, but that feeling in the pit of his stomach hadn't changed one bit when he did. "Best believe it when I say I'm going to be Hokage, dattabayo."

The man soon afterwards copied his mannerisms once again as he continued to stare at the teen. "Bored." It wasn't mocking nor a laughing voice Naruto heard when he uttered that, even if it did manage to sound goofy none the less. However it was with that said goofy voice his arm descended back to his side and the hand on his hip felt oddly loose and sweaty, as he stared with mouth open and agape at this… Strange thing standing in front of him.

Whatever he was going to say in return was left in stutters and short breaths when he tried to say something. Yet when he did find himself speaking again it was to find that the man was already walking away, "W-what?" he stutter within hearing range, which the man in question continued with his walking none the less, never missing a beat when doing so while he somehow blended into the crowd even with such strange clothing on.

"Bored," he heard the man say once again before he disappeared entirely.

With unanswered questions and a confused mind to boot, Naruto found himself sitting back on the bench he just shared with that strange creature, wanting to know what he meant by that. If he could tell one thing it was that feeling in the pit of his stomach didn't change one bit when the man left however, but then he had a feeling it wasn't going to go away even when the man did leave.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

When the blonde boy heard someone calling him it was when the sun had already began to set, showing an orange sky mixed with pink hues. "Hey Naruto," he turned his head to the side to find Jiraiya heading his way, which he couldn't be happier to see right now. "Catch," the man said when tossing a pair of keys in his direction, which he caught them with ease as he grinned at the man when he stood up.

"What have you been up to Ero-sennin?" he questioned lightly as the man continued to walk his way… Only to pass him.

"Could say the same to you too kid." he said as he stopped walking when his blonde haired student ran in front of him.

"H-hey uh Ero-sennin, I was kinda hoping…"

"Yes?" he stretched out the question when he found his student looking particularly timid.

"Maybe we could train a little more in that gen-jutsu combating thingy?" when his answer was a sign as the man crossed his arms over his chest he automatically knew what his answer was going to be but…

"I'm just saying for a sorta test review ya know, like I asked before. I-I'm not asking for you to teach me about gen-jutsu or anything, just a little review in what I did earlier today."

His answer was a shake of the head and a finger pointed towards the keys. "I gave you those keys for a reason you know, which if you couldn't tell by any chance means don't wait up for me tonight alright?" there was the oddest smile on the older man's face when he said that. "I'll be… Somewhere probably for the whole night, so keep those keys safe and sound and don't forget to sleep early okay?" he received a pat on the head as he pouted when looking at said keys.

"Alright I get it already… You pervert with that research of your's." he glared at the man who decided to look sheepish at his answer. "Just let me go and pay that bill then," he grumbled as he leaned his waist to the side and stared at…

An already paid meal as he could tell by the shop assistant collecting the money right now.

When had that strange creature…

"Naruto, you okay?" he was snapped out of his thoughts by Jiraiya's slightly concerned voice.

"Uh yeah… Guess I'll be going now." he spoke in a slow unsure manner as he sidestepped his sensei and walked towards the inn.

* * *

**_Wednesday_**

**_8/24. Five-thirty three; A patent's unwanted visitor –_**

There he was again…

That strange creature who just once again proved that he probably wasn't human and instead a ghost, since a little before now he fazed threw his window and was now eating an apple threw his mask.

And once again there he was as well…

Glaring at the man, as that's about all he could do right now since he was stuck in this hospital bed with his hands bandaged just a bit too much as he couldn't feel them right now.

If he was going to be honest he didn't think he'd see this man again, even if it hadn't been a whole week since they met, the oddball just seemed to disappear.

"How did you manage to climb my window?" he questioned as he didn't particularly know how this man climbed up a four story hospital just to get to his room, that was on one of the highest floors in this building by the way.

"Starting to worry about you sometimes Little genin." the man said with a shake of his head, which Naruto just ended up with a twitch in his eye over his nickname being said.

"Okay… But that doesn't answer my question Spirals," he grumbled as the man threw the half-eaten apple out of the window.

"After leaving, please make sure to think a little more alright?" he told him as if talking to a toddler who didn't know any better.

"I'm not some kid ya know," he mumbled as he took to glaring at him once again. "Just seems fishy how you climbed up a four story building, and how you're dodging my question by the way."

For the longest time they stared at each other, though Naruto once again had the strangest feeling he was looking into the void.

The man shifted in the chair next to his bed but other than that he didn't say anything, so after once again finding the silence unsettling it was him who said something. "What?" he asked in annoyance at the man who just kept…

Staring.

"Didn't climb, walked."

Naruto not expecting an answer so soon blinked once, twice, then three times before his words actually sunk in. "Wait… How?" he asked, which afterwards he was granted with even more silence as the man just kept staring at him.

Which Naruto returned…

"You need help."

…

Naruto gave this strange creature who talked oh so goofy - which forever would be named Spirals in his mind - the best glare he could give while there was just the oddest tick in his eyebrow.

Why did he suddenly feel as if he was arguing with Sasuke?

"Shinobi and the like can only do the things we do." now the blonde gave him a funny look from explaining something he already knew, which wasn't doing anything in helping his previous concern for the strange thing's mentality.

"I already knew that." he told him in mild annoyance and confusion, giving him a pointed look while he was at it.

"Starting to get really really concerned about you, Little genin," he spoke as if sadden… In that goofy voice of his.

"Same thing to you too Spirals," he spoke happily while his eyes creased upwards… Only to feel he said something wrong now.

"Shinobi and the like… Little genin." as if spelling it out now for him to understand.

"Yeah I got that." he still had this certain feeling he was saying something wrong when he meant it the other way for the other person to know but instead he wasn't saying it as smart as he should have because he had the strangest feeling he was forgetting something that was right in front of him.

Was that confusing?

"You… Need help." he said once more but this time in uncertainty as if he felt a little help wasn't going to do the trick for him.

…

It was when he blinked at the man…

That he may have just came to the conclusion of the point he was missing that he was trying to say.

He realized that this strange creature not only managed to climb – walk really – to his window and faze threw it, but also brought a basket with him with fruit and a silly orange and green card that said; _get well or __**die trying **_in the middle of said basket. Not to mention he also picked an apple out of the basket and ate it right in front of him... Threw his mask.

Which could have possibly been some kinda technique?

Naruto blushed…

He would have thought of him as a ghost had he not just thought about the people who clearly saw the man the other day. And as ominous as that greeting card seemed to a civilian, it was actually pretty common for a shinobi to give to another shinobi a card with that saying when they were bedridden in the hospital, as he once or twice received it as well.

…

Which meant…

"Yes Little genin," The man spoke in an overly sweet voice that just made the blonde cringe at when he realized he was the dumb one speaking in this conversation… And Spirals was the smart one.

**_Again…_**

Why did he suddenly feel like he was arguing with Sasuke?

"You're a shinobi…" the blonde mumbled when he found to his annoyance the man cupping his hand over his… Closed masked ear.

"Ah, finally glad you understand Little genin," he stated happily as the blonde proceeded to roll his eyes.

Until he blushed again.

As a matter of fact he looked agitated even.

"Well uh, you know I uh want to say…" he mumbled the rest of his words.

The man tilted his head to the side not actually hearing the rest of the blonde's words. "I'm sorry?" he asked as he once again cupped his hand over his closed masked ear.

"I uh, want to say th-thank you for the fruit basket and card," the blonde stuttered, not used to being wrong and having to thank someone in one day. Especially when that someone had a questionable mentality who visited strangers they just met the other day in the hospital by walking up the four story building.

The reason why he was here in this hospital to begin with was because of the new training Jiraiya had for him. He was right when he believed it was a new technique, which was a plus in his book since he could always use some extras in his short collection. Bad thing was however this technique would take him sometime to master, since this was above a simple rasengan.

He nearly blew his hands off more than once and suffered chakra loss because of it, reminding him of the chakra loss he suffered in his hands before when he was just learning it more than a year ago… Except with this being on a much larger scale than when he was younger.

After Jiraiya had dumped him here in the hospital about a week ago the man hadn't returned, making him feel a little dis-heartened in realizing the man probably wouldn't come back until his release. But as he turned his eyes towards that strange creature who by now seemed extremely happy to realize that he received a thank you...

He thought to himself…

Maybe it wasn't so bad.

"You see, now was that so hard Little genin? I knew if you tried hard enough you'd be able to think if you'd thinked because you should think before you act, every shinobi knows that rule. So tell me... Did you realize yesterday the gen-jutsu I put over you as I paid for the dango? I bet you did since you're such a master at combating against gen-jutsu right?"

Or maybe it really was that bad.

* * *

**Besides from Naruto training in the Sage Art, I didn't think he really got any stronger when traveling with Jiraiya from the past 2/3 years. So this is just my take on a what if scenario. **

**The things I can say now for this story is that yes, Tobi is still Obito.**

**But Madara is there...**

**Though none of you probably know what I mean by that.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The enemy is my friend, and the enemy of my enemy is my lover**

**Chapter two: A letter's hope pt 1**

* * *

The days at the hospital were strange to say the least.

That odd creature he met on a warm summer's afternoon only continued with his odd visits, both making the blonde feel relieved in some strange sense of the word and annoyed for when he made backhanded comments about his chakra control.

If he could say one thing it was the days moved by quicker when the strange creature would show up, the only problem with that was the things he brought along with him; which were books and puzzles.

Now that didn't sound so bad now did it?

But trust him it was.

During the course of staying in the hospital the doctors nor nurses changed their routine when it came to bandaging his hands, it was because of this reason of why he tended to glare at the odd man - with said man still taking the liberty of walking up a four story hospital to reach his room - who brought in stuff that he quite obviously couldn't play with, who he also could tell was probably giggling on the inside when he had to have noticed this fact.

Naruto could honestly say without any shame what so ever that he felt sorry for himself, he truly did. Normality was not apart of this thing's morality as he found out when it came to the books he'd bring, so when it came time for the man to read to him - even with the boy glaring daggers at him when he did so - everyone in the story whether it have been a prince, an anti-hero with a tragic past, a villain, a princess for goodness-sake and just about everyone else had the most goofiest voice he'd ever heard.

It was the akin of someone acting, acting.

Was that confusing?

Naruto once asked if his voice could perhaps go just a little itty bitty tiny bit deeper, for him to have some semblance of the world he was listening to so he could visualize in peace without the horrific image of everyone replaced with swiss-rolls.

He regretted asking that.

He truly did.

The room's temperature dropped about twenty degrees, which for a hospital, was pretty damn cold. Goosebumps had rosin up on his arms and his skin paled slightly, and when staring at the man who wasn't even staring back as if time stopped on that one syllable he froze on when he interrupted him…

He felt it was best for the disturbing man to continue in any which way or how he so desired.

Which he was happy to do when he told him. Not skipping back to before he said part of the word nor anything else, just continuing with that single syllable as if nothing had ever happened… In that goofy voice of his no less.

And puzzles for an example were no different either. When the man set the puzzle pieces down on the spacious floor the boy had to strain his neck in every which way possible just to see what it was about. He nearly fell off his bed a number of times without any help from his visitor who had been too busy during said times to help him. The annoying part of it all was when he would mention how the puzzle was oh so great and that he really should see it…

Which the blonde could only think with a; _I wish I could Spirals but you're not really helping. _He had the oddest but not newest tick on his eyebrow; which only proceeded to get worse during the coming days when the man brought in a rubik cube.

Now that was just torture.

* * *

He told himself he should have been happy to see Jiraiya, he really did, but he couldn't find the spirit to do so. Of course now that the man was here and had signed him out of the hospital they could continue with his training, sure, in the next day or so. And of course Jiraiya would be more serious now that he was out…

Well that was his guess anyways, and at the very least that strange creature wouldn't be back…

Well, that was a guess as well really but it had a higher percentage.

He hoped.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

…

If his glare could set people on fire with just one look Jiraiya would most likely be dead right now.

…

Now deciding if he would care two shits if it did was on a different level all on its own.

_"What…?" _Jiraiya winced when he once again saw that crude smile and creased eyes looking at him.

He believed the boy could handle the truth if he told it to him. Believed him to be a little more mature even if it was just by a smudge than in the past when he first became his pupil.

Oh if only time-travel existed he wouldn't have made that little itty bitty tiny mistake of telling Naruto the rasangan he'd been using for over a year now, a part of that small collection of techniques that he did have in his library… Was an incomplete jutsu.

The technique he worked his ass off in the past… With just willpower alone and a half of a lesson to go on from one of Iruka-sensei's teachings on chakra control… Was a lie?

**What _the…_**

"H-hey now, I can explain." Jiraiya chuckled nervously when he saw his student's hair flowing out in nine different formations from its spikes like once before.

Naruto proceeded only to look more angry than he was the first time the sage had to explain himself, realizing that the hard work he put into made him feel as if he were some kinda fool on some useless journey where he didn't know half of the time of what he was doing was even making a deference.

"Listen just for a sec alright?" the blonde only turned his eyes away from his suppose sensei, trying to keep the anger from showing on his face and the disappointment he felt for himself from showing in his eyes.

"It's true. The training you did to master the rasangan were the right steps, and you completed them. That all is true." he turned his blue eyes back on Jiraiya with a hint of confusion in them, feeling the older man was speaking in riddles right now. "However… The rasangan you completed was only a prototype the Yondaime created."

"Huh?" was the blonde's response when he didn't know exactly how to feel about that. Blinking once, then twice and three times he stared at Jiraiya's soon grinning face.

"The prototype rasangan is a technique only we can do Naruto, that much hasn't changed." when seeing the blonde's mouth gaping like a fish and talking with a stutter or two he silenced him with a simple raise of his hand. "But, soon when you complete your training you'll be able to use the complete rasangan; The Ōdama Rasengan… For short." the older man stated the last part as an afterthought when not quite remembering his student's long titled name for the damned thing.

He would admit that it was just a little itty bitty tiny white lie however that he could only use the prototype of the rasengan, but the boy didn't need to know that for now.

"I…" he was silent after that. Not knowing what to say or feel.

The boy was many things, especially when he looked back to his younger self when he was just a little little brat grinning miles away from his pranks. However, despite that he felt he still had a moral code, something akin to honor you may say. His mind would picture a samurai with gold-plated armor or a mecha-robotic copy of himself who'd fire countless missiles with no stop in sight to annihilated evil in it's presence...

It was silly probably.

And during those days as a little little brat he possibly read too many mangas in order to think such thoughts as he did now in this day in age… But it was true.

He liked the fact that he could bring hope to people who but all given up on life. People who still wondered the earth as if they were ghosts with no real purpose, just there.

That had been one of his mottoes since he'd been seven years of age, and it had stuck with him since then. When he finally became a genin he believed that this was it, that this was his time to shine, so little by little when he did change people's perspectives it only made him want to try harder.

…

That's why...

…

_Tsunade._

He stared down at the necklace that others would have called a curse. A necklace that he had believed he earned to wear to bring some kinda hope to that person who asked for it.

Ignoring Jiraiya's questioning gaze as he got up from his seat at the table, and with care took off the necklace he felt he didn't have a right to wear now and placed it on the stand. Walking towards the door he grabbed his coat that was on the edge of the couch and slipped on his blue sandals next to the door.

"H-hey, where the hell do you think you're going at this hour?" Jiraiya asked a bit stunned when watching his student ignore him.

"…"

"…"

"I made a promise to that woman." Jiraiya frowned when taking a quick glance at the cursed item he took off. "So why is it… So why do I feel disgusted with myself?" he questioned bitterly while taking a quick glance at his sensei who at this point looked as if he was re-living something from his past.

* * *

**From the video-games and from seeing it first hand in anime and manga and from trivia in the Naruto wikipedia, Minato's rasengan always ended up looking like the Ōdama Rasengan. **

**Since the Ōdama Rasengan was of higher density when it came to chakra I felt this was one of the final prototypes of Minato's rasengan. Minus the whole adding an elemental to the thing I considered it the final version of the rasengan, s****o I'm just adding a little fan-theory there and that's about it.**


End file.
